One more year, Spain consolidates itself as the leader in the life expectancy ranking of EU countries in 2023, with an average of 84 years, according to statistics updated this Friday by the Eurostat office. Spain has maintained this position since 2009, only interrupted in 2020 in the midst of the outbreak of the covid pandemic.
Thus, the average longevity in Spain last year has grown 0.8 more than in 2022 and is once again at the same figure it reached in 2019. Therefore, the country has once again reached the data it had before the pandemic broke out in 2020, which reduced life expectancy by 1.6 points, reaching 82.4 years that same year.
As a result, Spain leads this figure at the European level, which stands at 81.5 years for the entire Union, 0.9 years more than in 2022 and 0.2 more than in 2019, which until then held the maximum historical. Therefore, pre-pandemic levels have already been exceeded, which reduced life expectancy to 80.4 years that year, and 80.1 in 2021.
By country, Spain is at the top of the list at European level, above the Italians (83.8 years) and the Maltese (83.6). On the contrary, the lowest figures correspond to Bulgaria (75.8 years), Latvia (75.9), Romania (76.6) and Hungary (76.9). In total, 15 Member States exceed the average life expectancy.
Spain has not always occupied the first position. According to Eurostat’s historical series with data from all EU countries, Italy was the Member State with the highest life expectancy in 2002 and between 2004 and 2008, and Sweden ranked first in 2003.
In total, life expectancy has grown in 18 EU countries, and this time Romania and Lithuania lead this increase with 1 year and 0.8 years, respectively. In contrast, six countries in the bloc have taken steps backward in life expectancy. On the one hand, Austria and Finland fell by 0.4 years, and on the other, Estonia and the Netherlands saw life expectancy decrease by 0.2 years.
In the data updated this Friday by Eurostat, the life expectancy of other European countries that are not part of the EU was also included. In this case, Spain is in the number three position behind Switzerland, with 84.2 years, and Liechtenstein, with 84.8 years.
